Stanislas Martin
French Competition Authority (Paris)
General Rapporteur
Specialised in French and European competition law, particularly mergers and State aids, as well as European corporate law, European law on free movement of capital and on the right of establishment. Experienced in legislative procedures at the European Community and French level. He has published various articles on European and French competition law and policy. Stanislas is Rapporteur General at the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence). Before that, Stanislas was Director Regulation and Security at the French Ministry of Economics, Finance and Industry, General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) (2009-2017), Deputy Rapporteur General at the French Competition authority (Autorité de la concurrence), lawyer with Clifford Chance as Of Counsel (2005-2009), and Deputy Finance Counsellor at Permanent Representation of France to the EU (2004-2005). He was previously head of Merger and Sate aid Unit at DGCCRF (1999-2004).
Linked authors
Christophe Strassel
French Delegation before the EU
Alain Alexis
DG COMP (Brussels)
Vincent Verouden
DG COMP (Brussels)
Nadia Calvino
Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (Madrid)
Thomas Guérin
French Competition Authority (Paris)
Laurence Idot
University Paris II Panthéon‑Assas
Bruno Lasserre
French State Council (Paris)
Frédéric Jenny
ESSEC Business School (Cergy)
33987 | Conferences
Articles
86066 Bulletin
2085
The operation In this case, the Minister cleared the acquisition of Somy and Zurflüh-Feller with remedies. Both companies are manufacturing components for shutters, with strong market shares, but small horizontal overlaps, each company being specialised in different components. The market(s) (...)
2039
The operation In this case, the Minister cleared the acquisition of Vivarte and Supersport with remedies. Both companies are retailers of shoe, clothes and sport equipments. The market(s) The relevant markets were the retail market of low-cost clothes and the retail market of low-cost shoe. (...)
2114
The operation In this case, the Minister cleared the acquisition of Vivarte and Défi Sport with remedies. Both companies are retailers of clothes. The market(s) The relevant market is the retail market of low-cost clothes. The geographic dimension of the market is local. Remedy 1 Divestment (...)
3074
The operation Through this transaction, Delachaux acquired the sole control of Pandrol. Both companies were active in the rail fastening sector. The market(s) The product market was the rail fastening devices. On this market, different technologies may be used, each technology being (...)
1807
The operation The Experian company Acquired the document and cheque processing business of Atos. The market The relevant market has been defined as the cheque processing market. Remedy 1: Unenforceability of the non-competition clause The Minister noted that the transaction would lead to (...)
1803
The operation Through this transaction, Lamberet acquired the sole control of Chereau. Both companies offered a range of industrial vehicles specially designed for cold transport. The market(s) concerned by remedy(ies) The Minister assessed the effects of the merger in relation to the (...)
1963
The operation By way of a letter dated 1 october 2003, the French Minister of Economy approved the acquisition of Dubois Materiaux by Point P, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain. The market(s) The relevant market was considered to be the wholesale supply of building materials, which can be further (...)
3238
The operation In the case at hand, Vivendi Universal Publishing sold its entire equity interest in Comareg to France Antilles. Following the opinion given by the competition council, the Minister cleared the merger subject to structural and behavioral remedies. The market(s) The markets (...)
1971
The operation The French Minister of Economy clears a concentration by which the undertaking Leroy Merlin acquires sole control of OBI. The market(s) The sector involved in the present concentration is the retail trade and procurement of DIY products. The market was further sub-segmented (...)
1819
The operation The Minister authorized the merger between Ardi, a building material wholesaler, and Point P, a subsidiary of Saint Gobain. The market The Minister assessed the relevant market for retailing of building products on a product by product basis and focused his analysis on the (...)
3265
The operation Mr Bricolage acquired sole control of Tabur. Both parties were active in the distribution of DIY products, notably through integrated networks and franchises. The market concerned The market involved is the retail of DIY products through specialized superstores. Remedy: (...)
1800
The operation By a letter dated of 20 September 2000, the Minister reached a decision of clearance, in which he authorised the acquisition of two goups, Pressor and Galicier, by Midcap following the commitments offered by the parties to remove competition concerns raised by the merger. The (...)
3453
The operation The Minister clears the acquisition between CGST and Domoservices in phase 1. The market(s) The market has been defined as the market for supply of technical services for gas equipments to individual customers. Remedy 1: Vertical concerns The Minister believed that the (...)
1765
The operation In this case, the Minister cleared the acquisition of CGF-Gallet by MSA-Gallet with remedies. Both companies are manufacturer and provider of protection equipments of individuals including respiratory protection equipments, helmets and accessories. The market(s) The relevant (...)
1732
The operation The Minister granted conditional clearance to a merger between Panzani and Lustucru, which respectively held the first and the third position on the market for pasta. The market(s) concerned The relevant markets have been defined as the markets of dry and fresh pastas. Remedy (...)
2409
The operation In this operation, France Telecom, through its subsidiary TDF, will acquire the terrestrial broadcasting sites owned by Bouygtel. The market(s) The markets involved are the site location and maintenance for wireless communication operators. Remedy 1: Non discriminatory (...)
2067
The operation By the present transaction, Pathe will acquire the sole control of Gaumont. Both parties are producers, distributors and cinema operators. The market(s) The markets have been defined as (i) the movie distribution and (ii) the operating of movie theatres. Remedy 1: Divesture (...)
2096
The operation By the present transaction, Galerie Lafayette SA ("GL"), which is active in the retail sector throughout several department stores and the Monoprix chain, acquires the 18 French stores of Marks & Spencer. It should be noted that the transfer of assets is limited to the (...)
2690
The operation In the case at hand, Mediapost, a subsdiary of La Poste, acquires the distribution of leaflets business of Delta Diffusion. The market(s) The markets involved are the door-to-door distribution of commercial leaflets both at national and local level. Remedy The Minister notes (...)
2273
The operation The Minister cleared in phase II a merger between Boeing and Jeppesen subject to remedies. The markets The markets involved were the flight planning services, the flight operating services, the flight information services and the accessories. The relevant markets were defined (...)
1901
The operation In the case at hand, Vinci acquired the sole control of GTM, a Suez’ subsdiary. The market(s) The markets involved are the manufacture of road construction materials and the concessions of car parks. Remedy 1: Seller’s commitment Under the SPA concluded between Vinci and Suez, (...)
1838
The operation By the present transaction, Getinge will acquire the sole control of ALM. The market(s) The sector involved is the operating tables for surgical purposes. Remedy 1: Divestment Gettinge and ALM, are worldwide leaders in this market: they hold, respectively, the first and (...)
7490
The operation The Minister clears the acquisition of joint control by EDF and Vivendi Environement of certain Dalkia’ subsidiaries. The market(s) Electricity supply, cogeneration, facilities management. Remedy 1 Given the monopolistic position of EDF in the market for the supply of (...)
1711
The operation In this case, the Minister clears in phase I a merger by which Casino will acquire joint control of the Monoprix chain. The market(s) The relevant market has been defined as the markets for retailing daily consumer goods. Remedy: Divesture The Minister observed that (...)
7849
The operation Following the notification of the merger between Carrefour and Promodès, on 5 October 1999, the European Commission concluded, with regard to the supply market, that the operation was compatible with the Common Market, subject to the commitments given by Carrefour. At the French (...)
1751
The operation Acquisition of sole control of Fichet by Assa Abloy. The market(s) concerned by remedy(ies) Manufacturing and retail of locksmith hardware Remedy 1 In its opinion, the Competition council considered that, even if both parties operated well-known brands, competition concerns (...)
3496
The operation EDF and Cogema through their subsidiaries SDS and Tasys have acquired 45% of SRPG, a company that holds 67,39% of Clemessy. EDF is a French energy group active in all activities of the value chain including the supply of electricity in France. Clemessy is active in the supply of (...)
1995
The operation The French Minister of Economy cleared a concentration by which the group UBS Capital acquires sole control of Serse. The market(s) The market involved is the cash in transit services. Remedy 1: Divesture Post merger, the new entity will hold a dominant position in 13 local (...)
1616
The operation The concentration consists of a public take-over bid by TotalFina for all the shares in Elf Aquitaine held by the public. Both parties are active in the production of petroleum and gas, refining, distribution of petroleum products, petrochemicals and speciality chemicals. The (...)
2063
The operation In this case, the Minister cleared the acquisition of Meto by Checkpoint Systems Inc with remedy. Both companies are provider of electronic systems of anti-theft security including labelling solutions for article identification and security, barcode verifiers, theft-prevention (...)
2139
The operation By the present transaction, TCCC, a major brand owner and global supplier of soft drink including Coca-Cola notified the acquisition of the Orangina trademak. Following the negative opinion given by the French competition council, the merger was prohibited by the Minister. The (...)
2555
The operation By the present transaction, Decaux will acquire the sole control of Avenir. Both parties are active on the outdoor advertising market. The market(s) The markets are the supply of advertising posters at national and local level. Remedy 1: Bundling prohibition At the national (...)
1792
The operation Following the Commission’s decision of full referral, the French Minister of Economy authorised the creation of a joint venture between two companies active in the sale of de-icing salt subject to voluntary remedies. The markets concerned by remedies The market concerned by (...)
2407
The operation Fort James acquired the Demak’Up and Happy Bébé brands from the Procter & Gamble Company. The markets The sector involved is the manufacturing and marketing of cotton products. Remedy 1: Withdrawing the use of a trademark Post-merger, Fort James will have a market share of (...)
150800 Review
422
Three years after the introduction of the settlement procedure into the tools available to the Competition Authority, the Authority was able to witness the success and the very strong development of this procedure, with companies increasingly soliciting its application. Before the adoption of (...)
1060
Interview conducted by Mélanie Thill-Tayara, Partner, Dechert, Paris. A graduate of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and ENA, you have held several positions within the DGCCRF, worked for the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union and, less conventionally, practiced (...)
5062
Depuis sa création en 2004, la revue Concurrences organise un colloque. Les thèmes abordés ont naturellement été variés : de l’adaptation du système français au règlement n° 1/2003 à la place de la concurrence dans le traité de Lisbonne en passant par les questions de banque et de finance et la réforme (...)
2773
Min. Éco, February 17, 2009, Bigard / Socopa, aff. C2008-100, BOCCRF n°2bis of April 2, 2009 The last decision with commitments issued by the Minister, before the transfer of competence to the Competition Authority, also addresses, like the Commission’s Friesland/Campina decision commented on (...)
2536
EC Commission, 17 December 2008, Friesland Foods / Campina, Case COMP/M.5046 EC Comm, 17.12.08, Friesland Foods / Campina, Case COMP/M.5046 The merger between Frieslands Food and Campinia, two major players in the dairy sector in the Netherlands, led to significant market share additions in (...)
3141
EC Comm, 14 August 2008, CCAC JV, Case COMP/M. 5154 The operation consists in the creation of a full-function joint venture (JV) between eight European electricity distribution system operators (TSOs), including RTE, the operator of the French electricity transmission network. The main (...)
5738
Law n°2008-776 of August 4, 2008 on the modernization of the economy, art. 96, JORF n°181 of August 5, 2008, p.12471 Law 2008-776 of 4 August 2008 on the modernisation of the economy (known as the LME Law) radically reformed French merger control by transferring the powers hitherto held by the (...)
2989
Min. Eco, 4 April 2008, Vivarte/Défi Mode, aff. C2008-04, BOCCRF n° 4 bis of 7 May 2008 Min. 30 April 2008, Vivarte/Super Sport, case C2008-16, BOCCRF n° 5 bis of 19 June 2008. In two separate transactions, Vivarte, a shoe and clothing distributor, which owns the La Halle aux Chaussures and La (...)
3659
EC Commission, 27 June 2007, Ryanair/Aer Lingus, Case COMP/M. 4439. Just because a merger involves two low-cost air carriers does not mean that it is necessarily positive for the consumer! This point was reiterated by EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes at her press conference announcing (...)
3538
EC Comm, 17 October 2007, BAE Systems/VT/JV, Case COMP/M. 4640 The operation consisted in the creation of a joint venture (ShipCo) between the two remaining UK military shipyards capable of designing and building surface vessels, controlled by BAE and VT respectively. In addition to the (...)
3716
EC Comm, 30 January 2008, Ineos/Kerling, Case COMP/M. 4734. The present concentration between two PVC producers is a phase II decision without commitment. Even though phase II decisions are most often subject to commitments, and unconditional authorisations are much less frequent, this is not (...)
4353
Conc. conc. opinion No. 07-A-12 of 11 October 2007 on legislation on commercial equipment In an opinion of 11 October 2007, largely echoed in the initial conclusions of the Attali Commission for the Liberation of French Growth, the French Competition Council came out in favour of repealing the (...)
4350
EC Comm, 5 July 2007, ENEL/ Acciona/ Endesa, case COMP/M. 4685. EC Comm, 6 August 2007, E.On/ Endesa Europa/ Viesgo, case COMP/M. 4672 These two operations, ENEL/ Acciona/ Endesa followed by E.ON/ Endesa Europa/ Viesgo, bring the Endesa soap opera to a close. It should be recalled that E.ON (...)
4044
EC Commission, 4 June 2007, TUI/First Choice, Case COMP/M.4600 ECJ, 4 May 2007, Karstadtquelle/My Travel, Case COMP/M.4601. The two decisions TUI/First Choice (EC Commission, 4 June 2007, Case COMP/M.4600) and KarstadtQuelle/MyTravel (EC Commission, 4 May 2007, Case COMP/M.4601) are (...)
7017
To begin with, can you tell us something about your background? How did you “fall” into competition law? What are the differences, if any, between doing merger control within a national competition authority and at the European Commission? You actively participated in the 2003 debate on the (...)
4878
UK Competition Commission, 8 March 2007, Mid Kent Water / South East Water This column usually focuses on French and Community law. We propose, for once, an incursion across the Channel to examine a decision (provisional findings) of the British Competition Commission, published on 8 March (...)
4087
Min. Éco, September 28, 2006, Ista / Celliande, aff. C2006-87, BOCCRF n° 8 ter of November 22, 2006 The transaction consisted in the acquisition by Ista, controlled by CVC Capital Partners, of Celliande. These two companies are notably active in the sector of sub-metering, which consists in (...)
4765
EC Commission, Draft Notice on the Commission’s powers in merger control, public consultation, 28 September 2006, Press Release IP/06/1273 On 28 September 2006, the European Commission launched a public consultation on draft guidance clarifying the Commission’s current practice on jurisdiction (...)
3826
En dépit de parts de marché élevées, l’opération ne pose pas de problème, les parties proposant des produits éloignés et les concurrents disposant de capacités de production excédentaires pour contrer toute tentative de hausse des prix EC Comm, 23 May 2006, Orica / Dyno, Case COMP/M.4151 The present (...)
5323
EC Comm, 26 April 2006, T-Mobile Austria / Tele.ring, case COMP/M.3916 The Commission’s decision is interesting for several reasons: it is based on unilateral effects in the absence of a dominant position. As such, it could constitute the first gap case since the adoption of the new competition (...)
4430
Vers une segmentation plus fine des marches de droits sportifs ? EC Comm, 20 March 2006, CVC / SLEC, case COMP/M.4066 The operation consists in the acquisition by the investment fund CVC, which owns Dorna, the organiser of motorcycle championships, of SLEC, which organises motor races, in (...)
4164
La Commission ouvre une procédure contre la Pologne dans le cadre d’une concentration dans le secteur bancaire EC Commission, 18 October 2005, Unicredito / HVB, Case COMP/M. 3894. EC Commission, press releases IP/06/277 and IP/06/276March 8, 2006 At a time when there are perceived (...)
5036
La Commission européenne indique que le niveau des parts de marché n’est pas un indicateur pertinent en présence de produits différenciés EC Commission, 24 January 2006, Adidas / Reebok, Case COMP/M. 3942. The merger between Adidas and Reebok in the sports footwear sector gave rise to an (...)
3961
La Commission européenne autorise sous conditions le rapprochement d’opérateurs de téléphonie mobile EC Comm, 10 January 2006, Telefonica / O2, case COMP/M. 4035 Two main markets are affected by the merger between Telefonica, the Spanish telecommunications operator, and O2, a UK-based mobile (...)
4810
Engagements comportementaux et gains d’efficacité Min. Éco, October 28, 2005, Ouest-France / "Pôle Ouest" de la Socpresse, aff. C2005-18 Before turning to the substance of this case, which, a few months after the Boiron/Dolisos case (Min. Éco, 21 February 2005, Case C2004-114, ConcurrencesNo. (...)
7816
Stanislas Martin and Christophe Strasse, Counsellors at the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union 1. State aid policy has developed in a singular way, somewhat apart from the other branches of Community competition policy. Admittedly, the various articles of the Treaty (...)
3998
Effets coordonnés anticoncurrentiels résultant du système des conférences maritimes EC Comm, 29 July 2005, Maersk/PONL, case COMP/M.3829 The decision to conditionally authorise the acquisition of P&O Nedloyd (PONL), the world’s fourth largest liner shipping company, by Maersk, the world (...)
4203
Création d’une entreprise commune qui ne sera pas active sur le territoire français Min. Éco, May 25, 2005, TF1 / France Télévisions / CFII, aff. C2005-23 The creation of the French international news channel (CFII) was unconditionally authorised on 25 May 2005. The creation of this joint venture (...)
4811
La Commission européenne autorise une concentration dans le secteur de la défense et procède à une réévaluation de la définition des marchés pertinents dans le secteur EC Commission, 28 April 2005, Alcatel/Finmeccanica/Alcatel Alenia Space & Telespazio, Case COMP/M.3680. Through the creation of (...)
4323
Charge de la preuve et engagements comportementaux ECJ, 15 February 2005, Commission v. Tetra Laval BV, case C-12/03 P By decision of 30 October 2001 (Case COMP/M.2416), the Commission prohibited the merger between Tetra Laval and Sidel in the plastic and carton packaging of beverages. Prior (...)
4719
* The author was head of the Merger Bureau at the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control from February 2002 to July 2004. The opinion presented here is expressed in a personal capacity and does not commit his former Directorate or the institution to which he now (...)
3964
EC Comm, 26 October 2004, Oracle/Peoplesoft, Case COMP/M.3216 US District Court for the Northern District of California, 9 September 2004, USA v. Oracle Corporation On June 9, 2003, Oracle announced a hostile takeover bid for its competitor Peoplesoft. This high-profile case was closed, as far (...)
4656
Engagements : Un « up-front buyer » permet de garantir la viabilité des actifs cédés et de favoriser une nouvelle entrée sur le marché EC Comm, 6 October 2004, Sonoco / Ahlstrom / JV, Case COMP/M.3431 Sonoco and Ahlstrom, both active in the cores sector (cores: cardboard tubes forming the core of a (...)
4378
Engagements dans une affaire ayant donné lieu à une dérogation à l’obligation de suspension Min. Éco, September 2, 2004, Charles André / Citaix, aff’d C2004-85 This operation, in the sector of transport of dangerous goods (petroleum products), gave rise to substantial additions of market shares in (...)
4082
Proportionnalité des engagements en droit français: Des engagements qui lèvent l’ensemble des « doutes » liés à une opération sont recevables en première phase Min. Eco, 2 August 2004, General Electric / Invision, Case C2004-098 The acquisition of Invision, a company active in the areas of explosives (...)
4172
L’article 21-4 du Règlement (CE) n° 139/2004 confère à la Commission un pouvoir de décision pour protéger sa compétence exclusive vis-à-vis des Etats membres ECJ, 22 June 2004, Portugal v. Commission, Case C-42/01 First of all, let us recall the balance of Article 21 of the Merger Regulation. The (...)
